An offshore drilling safety rule, which goes into effect as soon as it is published under federal emergency rulemaking procedures, imposes requirements that the government laid out in a “notice to lessees” in June and other changes recommended in a May 27 report on safe offshore exploration.It includes a number of new requirements that govern everything from the design of wells to the blowout preventers and other barriers used to control them.The rule also dictates proper cementing and casing practices for wells — and other procedures critical to maintaining well control. It also requires third-party engineering experts to sign off on designs. A full description of the rule is after the jump.

A second rule, proposed last year long before the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, is designed to boost the safety of offshore drilling operations by requiring companies to implement comprehensive safety and environmental management systems. Because the workplace safety ruleeffectively makes mandatory one of the American Petroleum Institute’s recommended practices, it dovetails with what many companies are already doing, industry officials said.

The new drilling safety rule would:

Require professional engineers to certify that well casing and cementing programs are appropriate for the project.

Mandate two independent barriers across each flow path — certified by professional engineers — whenever well completion activities are under way.

Mandate that offshore wells comply with a currently voluntary API standard for isolating potential flow zones during well construction.

Require Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement officials to sign off any plan to replace a heavier drilling fluid with a lighter fluid.

Insist on better deep-water well control training for rig personnel.

Force companies to submit full drawings and other documentation for all well-control systems.

Require an independent third party to verify that the blind shear rams on blowout preventers are capable of cutting any drill pipe based on anticipated pressures.

Beef up the number of ways that remotely operated vehicles can activate blowout preventers.